Indeed, the company was only able to receive its FCC approval , after concerns were raised by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Included within the are manufacturers Garmin, Trimble, and OmniSTAR, as well as trade organizations like the Air Transport Association (ATA) and General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials is also a member, as are a host of bodies representing sectors of the manufacturing industry.

The coalition refers to the FCC's approval for LightSquared's plans as "highly unusual." It claims the FCC usually conducts extensive tests before granting approval, but in this case turned that on its head--the FCC granted approval but insisted on follow-up tests.

Perhaps in an indication of its underlying intention, the coalition goes on to say that interference issues should be taken care of by LightSquared, which "must bear the costs of preventing interference of any kind resulting from operations on LightSquared's frequencies."

That could well be the meat of the argument: It might be that GPS and LightSquared's proposed service are able to coexist only after modifications to GPS hardware--perhaps adding filtering circuits or shielding. And who will pick up the bill? Is it right, for example, if consumers have to pay for more expensive hardware just so another 4G LTE service joins the airwaves?